


i will be there

by unrequitedexistence



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F, berena - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7974436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unrequitedexistence/pseuds/unrequitedexistence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"if you ever need someone<br/>to just love you<br/>if you ever need someone<br/>to simply adore you</p>
<p>i will be there<br/>standing by your side<br/>i will be there<br/>standing by your side"</p>
<p>Exhaustion brings them together. <i>Again</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i will be there

There are days when breathing is the furthest thing from a reflexive act. There are days when each breath is a _conscious_ choice. There are days when exhaustion laughs at the restrained broadness of its own meaning.

Serena Campbell walked into what appeared to be an available on-call room. She locked the door behind her, not wanting to be disturbed by wandering souls. She leaned against the solid surface, trusting it with the weight of her fatigue, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For the first time since the beginning of her shift she allowed herself to acknowledge the protests of her tense muscles. She had been on the edge ever since she had set foot on the hospital’s grounds and she had yet to let go of her state of hyper-awareness. 

_Inhale_. _Exhale_.

Had it been any other day she would be having a glass of Shiraz by now in the comfort of her home or at Albie’s. This wasn’t just another day, though. She was waiting to hear about the further testing that had followed a failed attempt at bringing Fletch back from his comatose state. She wanted to be there, _in person_ , as to avoid having her questions dodged or dismissed on the phone.

She approached the one bed, using her cell as a guiding light through the welcoming and rather promising darkness. It only took her a step to notice that the space was already occupied… and by none other than Berenice Wolfe.

_Bernie_.

Her mind instantaneously started playing the moments they had shared the night before in a level of high definition that would have the most expensive and vowing screens breaking beyond repair in shame. A tingling sensation enveloped her whole body as the word bliss tickled the tip of her tongue.

They had barely exchanged a word during the course of the day, having reduced their interactions to minimum that had been noticeable to those predisposed to see. It hadn’t been downright unbearable, but it had felt… _odd_. There had been something pointedly missing and Serena knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what _it_ was. Words, sounds with no inner meaning, were keeping them apart. It was utterly preposterous, or so Serena found herself thinking after having discussed, _out loud_ , the matter with Fletch, with _herself_.

Serena knew she should have probably left the moment she realized the room was unavailable, but she just couldn’t help herself. It was not every day that she got to see Bernie’s face this open – and what a glorious sight it was!

The other woman’s renowned _good old British reserve_ was a fortified fortress. Serena had gotten used to Bernie’s demureness, but the glimpses she had been given privileged access to had her… _mesmerized_. How was one supposed not to fall head over heels in love with her? Serena was convinced, for her own good and a thousand other (un)questionable reasons, that if there truly was an impossible mission, that would be it.

She only became fully conscious of the possible consequences of the gesture that had followed the train of thought she had been on when she felt the other woman gently tugging her wrist. She had decided to leave Bernie to rest but not before bending over slightly to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her fingertips lightly touching the skin of her face as she let go.

“Stay.”

Serena, already half a step closer to the door, froze in place. She had not meant for that to happen… or had she?

Even though Bernie’s tone was indisputably the one of someone half asleep, her grip on Serena’s wrist seemed wide awake. There was certain _fervor_ to it, a tender persistence that had Serena turning to face her as soon as Bernie started caressing her skin with her thumb.

“C’mon.” Bernie added affectionately as her eyes met Serena’s and held them deliberately for the first time since they had kissed. “I promise I won’t bite.” She smiled as Serena rolled her eyes, the heartfelt humor having created a breach in the tension and a bridge between them.

“That might just be the problem.” Serena muttered under her breath as she sat down and undid her shoes before lying down next to Bernie. She sighed deeply at the comfort offered by the mattress.

They remained like that for a while. Serena lying on her back, her eyes focused on the ceiling, and Bernie on her side, her attention palpably and solely devoted to an apparently undisturbed Serena.

_Silence_.

If before the brunette could barely hear her thoughts over the sound of her own heartbeat, the whole thing escalated, became _deafeningly_ loud, once Bernie reached for her. The blonde’s fingertips found their way to tracing invisible lines on her arm, leaving goosebumps on their path.

Serena closed her eyes and bit hard to her lower lip as she fought every _single_ inch of herself that seemed to be wanting, to be _craving_ , Bernie’s touch.

Bernie moved faintly closer, her fingertips never parting with Serena’s skin. Her breathing had become more labored and the brunette could now feel it against her neck. Her body instantly responded, a soft moan escaping the back of her throat.

“Serena…”

A breathless request, a _plea_ , one that demanded to be answered and offered _yes_ as the one single option.

This time there was purpose in Serena’s moan as her name was whispered so close to her ear that it made her shiver. Bernie placed a kiss behind Serena’s earlobe before nuzzling her neck as her hand found Serena’s bare hip under her scrubs and pulled her closer to her.

“You’re here.”

The longing and disbelief in her voice made something inside Serena break down. The wall of doubts she had brought up the night before once they had parted ways was now crumbling down.

“Always.” Serena at last replied, her hand meeting Bernie’s under her own top before she turned so that they were facing one another.

She had expected to read desire in the blonde’s eyes, but she could have painted a universe of sunsets with what she found instead. There was desire, _yes_ , unapologetic _lust_ , but there was also respect, relief, devotion, affection… perhaps a little desperation and possibly… _love_?

"Hi." The blonde whispered, sounding almost shy.

Serena's eyes were transfixed by her lips, though, and the blonde visibly gulped.

"Don't be ridiculous, Bernie." The brunette replied before taking the first, beyond confident, step.

_Oh, and how they danced_ …

**Author's Note:**

> These two are going to kill me. Just another little thing that I simply _had_ to write down before it drove me nuts.


End file.
